Moving to a new place is often a time-consuming and costly affair, especially if you have a lot of luggage and furniture, as well as a large family. Moving costs are tied to the overall costs of living and can be higher or lower depending on the state you’re in. However, even in states with a lower average cost of living, moving can appear affordable at first, but can come with a lot of hidden costs that can easily add up to a large sum.
For example, hiring movers for moving from and to a standard 2-bedroom home will usually cost between $450 and $950. Or, at least the quote you’ll get in the beginning is going to be in that range. When you add up all the hidden costs, however, you may end up spending thousands of dollars. These hidden costs aren’t just down to the moving company either, as there are other hidden costs outside of the company’s services that people ought to consider beforehand. Let’s go over the main ones and how to avoid them.
The hidden costs of moving companies
Hiring full service movers in Colorado is something that should be done with a lot of forethought and research. The base fees of all moving companies will cover the loading, transportation, and unloading, but there are going to be added charges for certain situations. A good moving company will be honest and upfront about those, giving you the ability to calculate your budget carefully beforehand.
1. Long-carry fees
If the movers have to carry your furniture and luggage too far from your home to their truck because there are no good parking options, they will charge you a long-carry fee for the longer distance.
2. Disassembling and reassembling furniture
If you can’t or don’t have the time to disassemble and reassemble your furniture yourself, the movers can do that for you, but they will also ask for an extra charge. Also, note that they may require that the furniture be disassembled to make transportation easier.
3. Cancellation or rescheduling fees
Reputable moving companies usually have packed schedules, especially during the summer season or most weekends. So, cancellations and rescheduling dates can be quite costly for them, which is why they charge additional fees for that.
4. Elevator and stairs fees
Similar to long-carry fees, movers will usually charge extra if they have to navigate multiple flights of stairs. Using elevators can also result in extra fees, however, especially if they are small and you have furniture that needs to be moved.
5. Specialty items
Certain items, such as safes, pianos, glass furniture, and other items that require extra labor and effort, can also lead to extra fees.
6. Environmental charges
You can ask your moving company to dispose of items that you don’t need moved or to dispose of the packing materials used for the move, but that usually results in additional environmental charges.
7. Tipping
Many people don’t know that, but tipping your movers is usually socially expected, similar to tipping waiters. The standard tips are in a similar range too, usually 5%-20% of the total cost of the service.
The hidden costs outside of moving services and/or of moving without professional help
How can you avoid all the hidden costs of moving that we have listed above, in addition to the base cost of hiring movers? Simple, do the move yourself without professional help! Except, it’s not actually that simple, as moving without professional help also ends up being quite costly, too.
To make matters even more complicated, some of the added costs below are a factor even if you hire professional help. So, in either case, you are going to want to consider, calculate, and factor into your budget all the other hidden costs below, too:
1. Administrative expenses
Moving to a new place involves filing paperwork, getting permits, and performing other administrative tasks, all of which come with additional fees.
2. Packing supplies
Supplies, such as tape, cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, and others, can add up to surprisingly substantial amounts of money, so it’s best to factor that into your budget.
3. Temporary storage
Some furniture and luggage may need to be placed in temporary storage somewhere while you are moving, especially if there is a time gap between the moving out and the moving in. Such storage can be very expensive if you don’t have a friend or a relative where you can store your items.
4. Food and drinks
Packing and moving can take a while, which usually requires food and drinks for the people who have come to help you pack. This expense gets even more substantial if you have decided to rely on your friends and family for the entire move, to,o and you haven’t hired professional help.
5. Time off work
The most significant and overlooked hidden expense of moving without professional help is the time off work you’re going to need to take. This alone can end up being more costly than the fee for the professional movers.
6. Travel expenses
Even if you hire professional movers, you’re still going to need to move to your new place yourself, which can be quite expensive if we’re talking about a long-distance move. The fuel, tolls, and vehicle maintenance, or the travel tickets, can be quite costly.
7. Renting a truck
If you don’t want to hire professional movers, you may need to rent a truck for your furniture and belongings. Even if you have a large enough vehicle, however, you are still going to need to pay for the fuel costs, tolls, and other such expenses.
8. Utility setup and activation
Setting up and activating the utilities at your new place is a rather significant expense that many people forget to factor into their budget.
9. Cleaning
Getting your new place cleaned properly (and your old place, if you need to) can either be a time-consuming effort or it may require the hiring of professional cleaners.
10. Repairs and replacements
Accidents happen, and you may need to repair or replace an item that gets damaged or broken during the move.
11. Insurance and liability
Reputable moving companies are fully insured and licensed. If you’re not using such a service, however, you may need additional insurance yourself, as a basic insurance policy may not cover the full value of your furniture and belongings.
12. Changing locks
It is a good practice to change the locks at your new place once you’ve moved in. However, such services can be costly in Colorado.
How to avoid or minimize such hidden costs?
In the case of all the costs associated with not hiring professional help, such as getting time off work, renting a truck, or paying for damages yourself, the easiest way to avoid those is to hire professional and properly insured movers.
Even then, however, there are hidden costs that can surprise you, such as additional fees, administrative expenses, or temporary storage. Many of those can be avoided with better planning. For example, if you can time your move in such a way that there is no time gap between the moving out and the moving in, you won’t need any temporary storage. Also, if you can get friends and family to help with the packing and furniture disassembling, you won’t have to pay extra fees for such services.
Still, in any case, there will be some unavoidable extra expenses to moving in or out of Colorado that aren’t directly tied to the moving itself and that you may miss. Administrative expenses, utility setup, lock changes, and other such “hidden” costs should always be factored into your budget when you can’t avoid them.